TV panel prices fall due to slow demand

SLOW SEASON:：A researcher said demand was slowing as the industry entered its traditional slow period, but expected the Lunar New Year would boost consumption

Staff writer, with CNA

Mon, Jan 21, 2013 - Page 14

Television panel prices quoted for the second half of this month fell from the first half of the month as the flat-panel sector entered the industry’s traditionally slow season, a research report said on Saturday.

In the second half of the month, 32-inch TV panel prices fell about US$1 to between US$104 and US$127 per unit, while 39-inch displays were priced at US$222 each, down US$3, the report said.

Meanwhile, 40 to 42 inch panel prices fell US$3 or US$4 to a range of between US$224 and US$284 per unit, while 46-inch screen prices were cut by US$4 and US$356 each, according to the report.

DisplaySearch said TV sales in China during the New Year holiday rose between 7 percent and 8 percent from the same period last year, but fell below expectations, leaving TV manufacturers in China saddled with high inventories.

Although the approaching Lunar New Year holiday is likely to stimulate consumer demand, TV suppliers and distributors have been cautious in their sales projections during the current slow season, the advisory firm said.

TV panels were not the only large-sized display category to suffer price declines in the second half of the month.

Prices also fell for other large displays used in desktop computer monitors and notebook computers, DisplaySearch said.

It said prices of 13.3-inch, 14-inch and 15.6-inch notebook computer prices fell US$0.50 to between US$39 and US$45, while prices of 17.3-inch panels were cut by US$1 to US$58.50.

Meanwhile, DisplaySearch said shipments of TV panels last month totaled 20.4 million units, down 9 percent from November, but up 20 percent from a year earlier. It was the fifth consecutive month that TV screen shipments fell on a month-on-month basis, according to DisplaySearch.

Last month, desktop computer display shipments rose 3 percent from November to 15.4 million units, while shipments of screens for mobile communications device use rose 15 percent to 30.5 million units, the advisory firm said.